The CA hate crime report shows that 51.6 percent of race-based hate crime victims are Black.
This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office recently released the annual California Hate Crime report. The report of 2023 hate crimes shows that with hate crimes that are based on race, Black people are the victims in over half of those crimes.
Out of the 1,970 hate crime events, 1,017 (51.6 percent) of those were based on race/ethnicity/national origin. Black people were the victims of 518 hate crimes, which account for 51.6 percent of race-based crimes, and 26.3 percent of all hate crimes. Latino victims accounted for 19.6 percent of race-based hate crimes, Asians 12.3 percent, and White people 5.2 percent.
There were 394 religion-based hate crimes, accounting for 20 percent of all hate crimes, with 289 anti-Jewish crimes, accounting for 73.4 percent of religion-based hate crimes.
There were 405 sexual-orientation hate crimes, accounting for 20.6 percent of all hate crimes.
The California Hate Crime report came out about a month after the California anti-hate hotline report was released, and that report had similar findings. Anti-Black bias was by far the most cited reason for reports related to race. The most common reason why people called the anti-hate hotline was for discriminatory treatment, with most of the incidents happening at or near a person’s home, followed by the workplace and public facilities.
An analysis of the report shows that race and ethnicity was the most cited bias motivation with 35.1 percent of the reports. Gender identity was second with 15.4 percent and sexual orientation at 10.8 percent. Within race and ethnicity reports, anti-Black bias was by far the highest with 26.8 percent of the reports, compared to 15.4 percent for anti-Latino bias and 14.3 percent for anti-Asian bias.
The hate crime statistics fluctuate up and down from year to year, and there was a 20.6 percent decrease in anti-Black crimes from 2022.
The Attorney General has launched the Racial Justice Bureau, which among other things, supports the California Department of Justice’s broader mandate to advance the civil rights of all Californians by assisting with new and ongoing efforts to combat hate and bias. Beginning in 2021, the Attorney General began proactively engaging with local city leaders in the biggest cities in California.
As a part of the CA vs. Hate initiative, many community-based organizations have participated with the campaign, and also with the LA vs. Hate initiative, to help combat hate crimes and bullying. In the Los Angeles area, the Brotherhood Crusade and the Bridge Builders have youth mentoring programs that have brought awareness to the issue and encouraged the children who they work with to report hate crimes. Representatives for both community-based organizations said that many of their students have become accustomed to and desensitized by certain types of speech and treatment, so they do not report potential hate crimes.
With the Black population diminishing at local schools, high schools in Inglewood opened the LA vs. Hate Dream Centers so that students can better cope with bullying and harassment.
“The Dream Centers come from the fact that we are aware of the number of acts of hate incidents that involve bullying and harassment that students have reported historically, particularly marginalized students, racial minorities, LGBTQ students, and religious minorities,” said Robin Toma, executive director of the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations. “We’re aware that it’s something that’s a strong need in our schools. We’ve seen students who are afraid to come out of the classroom at lunchtime because of the fear of being harassed. The Dream Centers have created a safe space where those students will be supported by staff, by one another, and have the opportunity to have a place where they can raise concerns and get help in a very confidential and supportive way.”
Local art programs, such as LA Commons in Leimert Park, combat anti-Blackness through the LA vs. Hate initiative. LA Commons engages communities in artistic and cultural expressions that tell their unique stories and serves as a basis for dialogue, integration, and a shared understanding of Los Angeles.
“Our work is about enhancing a sense of belonging amongst people in Los Angeles,” said Karen Mack, executive director of LA Commons. “Our theory of change is that as people are more visible through artist expression, there’s more self love and visibility about the contributions and narratives of everyone. We provide opportunities for people to interact with each other, because that’s the most powerful strategy for belonging is to actually build trust and relationships.”
The CA vs. Hate hotline is a non-emergency line that is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Reports can be made anonymously by calling 833-8-NO-HATE or 833-866-4283. Reports can also be made online by visiting www.cavshate.org. For emergencies, dial 9-1-1.
